The number of distressed inter-State migrant workers from Odisha has been increasing alarmingly. There are horrible cases of labour trafficking, harassment, cheating, chopping of hands, rape, murder, missing, underpayment and exploitation, but there is no change in the pathetic situation because of poor implementation of laws and programmes.
The State labour Minister in the Assembly reported about death of 112 migrant workers during the last three years from 2014 to 2017. It is told that more than half of the death has occurred in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. But it is fact that many such death cases have gone unnoticed without record by the labour Department and the police. The workers are migrating in search of employment and exploited at workplace; many of them have to lose their life every day. The number of inter-State migrant workers as estimated by the State Government was about 92,000 in 2011 and it has increased to 1.5 lakh in 2015. The number has been increasing every year without control. There are about 3,000 registered labour contractors who are officially engaged in the business. Historically, Odisha is a State of low paid distress labourers where they can be easily cheated, exploited and also there are identified migration prone districts such as Balangir, Baragarh, Kalahandi, Subarnapur, Nuapada, Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, Nabarangapur, Rayagada and Khurda known for availability of migrant workers. It is unofficially estimated that around 20 lakh people from Odisha, including women and children, are working as migrant workers outside the State. The Odisha Government has neither district wise data about the correct figure of migrant workers, nor records on plight of workers and their suffering.
Bibeka Chhinda, a migrant worker from Boudh district, died in a Balangir hospital in 2014 due to severe burns and in his statement before police and doctors, he told that the cause of his suicide was out of depression after watching the gang rape of his wife and killing of his son by the owner of the brick kiln and his associates. The hands of Dialu Niala and Nilambar Dhangada Majhi, two migrant workers, were chopped and they were not properly rehabilitated by the Government. Nilambar Dhangada Majhi died in serous fever without proper treatment in 2016. Arjun Durua of Koraput, a child labour, lost his one eye in Hyderabad while serving in a bore well company and there are hundreds of such stories that very well exhibit the plight of migrant workers every day but action of the labor Department is few and far between.
Data shows that a major chunk of these migrant workers is from the marginalised communities, Dalits, Adivasies and OBCs, mostly landless, illiterate and seasonally employed, in agricultural activities. They work in land of upper caste land lords/ Gountias those who not only own huge land but also have socio-economic power, money lending business, trade, transport and political influence. They control the development programmes of the villages. The minimum wage rate in rural Odisha is one of the lowest in the country and agriculture is seasonally fully dependent on monsoon. The non-implementation of land reform has helped the traditionally land owning communities to continue as big farmers with all kinds of State patronage for agriculture development and the condition of agricultural workers and sharecroppers has not changed as they remain landless wage labourers without work throughout the year.
The biggest rural employment scheme MGNREGS goes ineffective in ensuring 100 days labour for the landless wage earners. Studies have exposed that about one-third of the job cardholders are employed whereas only one-third of them only availed 100 days of work which is the story in almost every parts of the State. The wage rate paid under MGNREGA is the lowest even in comparison to local rate and this also is not being paid on time with untimely delay along with huge corruption. So the ultimate losers are the poor innocent labourers on whose behalf the programme is running. Added to this scheme of employment, there are a number of anti-poverty schemes and social security measures for the poor which are not being implemented properly. The marginalized poor, mostly the Dalits and Adivasies, have been facing social discrimination practice of untouchability in the village where they are not socially allowed to do petty business and such other service delivery activities because of their caste identity and social exclusion. They are not inclusive of institutional financial sources to access credit because of limited banking facilities in rural areas; so they remain outside of the opportunity of banking. So the scope of local self-employment is restricted for them. The constitutional governance of last 60 years has not brought any structural change in the production relation in rural economy in elevating the condition of landless marginalised sections. The mere charity and welfare programmes of the Government such as Re 1 per kg rice etc. has not contributed to create assets such as land, water source, electricity, house, capital assets, skill and education.
A major part of their income goes as healthcare expenses, on children’s education and social customs and cultural practices. The local land owning families are also local money lenders who are playing a major role in further distressing the condition of migrant workers by exploiting the vulnerable condition of the poor.
Though there is legislation such as the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Service condition) Act, 1979, but it has been very poorly implemented in the State due to a corrupt bureaucracy and lack of political will of the ruling political party. The human rights bodies are only monitoring specific cases of complaint whereas the issue is largely affecting thousands of landless poor in backward areas of the State. The labour officials, police, contractors and local elected people’s representatives have a nexus which is the main reason of lawlessness. It is fact that the Sarapanch, local police and labour officials collectively have to monitor the situation and maintain a database of the workers, but unfortunately, there has been no action at the panchayat level. On the other side, the landless poor are not organised socially and politically to counter the situation. There are lakhs of migrant workers who remain untouched by trade unions who are still mostly engaged with organised sector employees.
As per the Economic Survey report in 2016-2017, inter-State migration in our country has increased to about 90 lakh annually. It is said that the workers of backward States and backward districts are migrating to rich metropolis and hubs of industry, mining, SEZ, textile, construction and infrastructural work. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, Kolkata, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala are major destinations of migrant workers.
(manasbbsr15@gmail.com)